165 Players are ready to go under the hammer in the Women's Premier League Auction On December 9
165 players will go under the hammer during the player auction on December 9 for the second edition of the Women's Premier League scheduled to be held in Mumbai
The second edition of the WPL could take place in February-March next year. "Out of 165 players, 104 are Indians and 61 are overseas cricketers of which 15 are from associate nations. The total capped players are 56, uncapped players are 109,"BCCI said in a release on Saturday. "A maximum of 30 slots are available with the five teams, with 9 spots for overseas players."
Interestingly, it was the 27-year-old Garth who had replaced Dottin in the Gujarat Giants squad, who later released the Aussie in the off-season. Garth chose to be in the top bracket with the highest reserve price of Rs 50 lakh. West Indian all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been controversially excluded on medical grounds by Gujarat Giants.
Aussie all-rounders Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham, English wicket-keeper Amy Jones, and South African pacer Shabnim Ismail are the only four players to be slotted with a base price of Rs 40 lakh.
The five franchises -- Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Giants, UP Warriorz, and Royal Challengers Bangalore have 30 slots available with nine reserved for overseas players. A total of 60 players, including 21 foreigners, were retained by the five teams.
The Giants will have the biggest salary cap available to fill in 10 slots, while Delhi Capitals will enter the auction with a purse of Rs 2.25 crore. Defending champions Mumbai Indians have Rs 2.1 crore to fill five slots, while Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to pick seven players with a purse of Rs 3.35 crores and UP Warriorz will have Rs 4 crore purse to fill five spots at the auction.
Young guns at the top, perfect lengths, experience in the middle: Pune Warriors set a T20 blueprint at Women's Maharashtra Premier League
Without many superstars in the team, Pune Warriors won 7 out of 7 games to win the Women's Maharashtra Premier League 2025. Gaanesh Tyagi, the analyst of the team, shared the blueprint of the win with Sportz Point.
Seven out of seven wins. Invincible Pune Warriors defeated all the odds to come out victorious in the Women's Maharashtra Premier League 2025.
While other franchises had big names, such as Smriti Mandhana, Tejal Hasabnis, and Kiran Navgire, among many other stars of the women's game, Pune Warriors had a clear plan and strategy.
With only prominent names in Anuja Patil and Shweta Mane, the Pune Warriors Women's team depended on clear thoughts, executions and camaraderie to win the league. Team analyst Gaanesh Tyagi shared all the secrets in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point.
Gaanesh is a high performance analyst from Mumbai, who has worked for more than 10 T20 franchise teams. He was also the analyst of the Mumbai Cricket team, which won their first ever Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament in 2023.
The team combination: All-rounders, effectiveness and youth
Even before stepping onto the field to win the tournament, teams must first succeed in a different battle during the draft or auction. This is where many teams secure half of their victory. Women’s cricket has different demands than men’s cricket, and in T20 cricket, the need for strong all-rounders reaches its peak.
With captain Anuja Patil being the perfect all-rounder for the team, the coaching staff opted for additional all-rounders to effectively manage the middle overs.
"The entire coaching staff and captain Anuja Patil were involved in building the team. We aimed to have more all-rounders while also featuring skilled individuals for every situation in the game,” Gaanesh explained to Sportz Point.
During their initial meeting with the players, captain Anuja and the coaching staff discussed a comprehensive plan for winning the tournament. This provided every player with a clear roadmap and clarity on how they needed to prepare for each aspect of the game.
"In that first meeting, we talked about how we should be winning the tournament. Each player knew their role within the team, which helped provide a clear roadmap for everyone,” Gaanesh added.
This phrase has become quite popular in world cricket. Even in the Indian Premier League, the team with the superior bowling combination often performs better. Analysts play a crucial role here by offering insights on optimal lengths, lines, speeds, and determining who should bowl at various stages of the game.
For Pune Warriors, prior to each match, analysts would provide each bowler with a specific plan to tackle all potential batters they might face.
"In women’s cricket, understanding lengths is crucial. Knowing what length to bowl against which batter is key. We had strategies for each opponent.
"So, it was all about execution on the field, which our bowlers accomplished successfully. That’s why we had two bowlers, Chinmayee Bhorpale (the Purple Cap winner) and Anuja Patil, in the top five highest wicket-takers list," Gaanesh stated.
When you have a young and relatively inexperienced team, it’s essential to have someone who can guide each player. Just as the Rajasthan Royals had Shane Warne, Pune Warriors had Anuja Patil.
Anuja, who has played 50 T20Is for the Indian national team, possesses the knowledge necessary to win cricket matches. With her leadership, every young player learned how to approach each match to achieve victory.
"We affectionately called her the 'Boss Lady.'
The entire team respected and followed her decisions. In tournaments like this, a clear direction is crucial, and Anuja provided the guidance we needed with her experience."
Balancing the mix of youth and experience in team building can be challenging. Some players on the squad were born after Anuja and Shweta Mane began their cricket careers.
There was a noticeable gap in age and experience, so the team needed to blend these elements effectively to perform at their best.
Both Anuja and Mane acted as both friends and firm mentors, fostering a harmonious environment that brought out the best in young players like 17-year-old Akshaya Jadhav, 16-year-old Suhani Kahandal, and U-23 player Khushi Mulla, who ended up being the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament.
"Youth at the top and experince in the middle"
Although the powerplay and death overs seem to be entertaining, it is the middle overs that decide the winner in a T20 game. Be it with the bat or ball, the 7-15 overs of a T20I game are the most crucial overs.
That is why Pune Warriors had the plan of having the most experienced players playing the middle order, be it with the bat or ball.
That even allowed youngsters like Khushi Mulla, Suhani Kahandal and Akshaya Jadhav to have the freedom to enjoy the game.
"The middle overs control the outcome of the game. We even saw Smriti Mandhana batting in the middle order for Ratnagiri Jets. So, from the start of the tournament, we wanted to have experince in the middle overs and youth at the top," Gaanesh explained.
"Discipline, calmness and execution"
Winning all seven of your games is a significant challenge, and in T20 cricket, it’s nearly impossible to maintain that momentum throughout.
However, according to Gaanesh, if the team maintains discipline, calmness, and focuses on execution, the chances of not losing become greater.
He recounted the last over of the final match against Solapur Smashers: “We needed to defend 9 from 6 and it became 4 from 4. But we kept calm under pressure and executed well to win the title.”
Whenever a team without many superstars win any tournament, there comes a question of whether they will be able to continue that in the next season. We have seen it with the Rajasthan Royals in the past as well.
Since winning the inaugural season, they have not been able to win any trophies. What's the secret sauce to keep winning?
"Process," Gaanesh said.
He feels all the youngsters who got a bit of fame and name from this season need to aim for bigger goals and achievements. This is how they will be able to keep them ready for next season. Most importantly, they need to focus on the process which has given them results.
Major setback for BCCI as Bombay HC orders to pay ₹538 crore to defunct IPL team Kochi Tuskers Kerala
An impact of legal ruling marks a major setback for BCCI as Bombay HC orders to pay ₹538 crore to defunct IPL team Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Get the complete story here.
For years, the Board of Control for Crock in India (BCCI) has navigated various challenges. However a recent coury order is set to have a major financial impact on the sport's governing body.
This ruling revisits a past chapter involving a former IPL team and a long-standing dispute with them. The decision has arrived after a decade of the case, and brings a major setback for BCCI as Bombay HC orders to pay ₹538 crore to defunct IPL team Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
Read the full story to know why.
How the BCCI-Kochi Tuskers Kerala dispute began
BCCI authorities, 2025. Image | Facebook
The root of this major legal battle dates back to 2011, when the BCCI terminated the contract of the IPL team Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The team, managed by Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL), had only played in one IPL season.
The BCCI claimed they ended the contract because Kochi Tuskers failed to provide a required annual bank guarantee by a deadline in March 2011. This was seen by the BCCI as a serious breach of their agreement.
However, the team owners had a different view. They argued that their delay was due to several issues, including problems with the stadium in Kochi and delays in getting necessary approvals. They also stated that the BCCI continued to deal with them and even accepted payments for months after the March deadline.
The team owners believed this showed the BCCI had waived or overlooked the deadline, making their sudden contract termination unfair.
Taking the matter to arbitration:
Because they felt the termination was wrong, the Kochi Tuskers owners took the matter to arbitration in 2012. An independent tribunal looked at all the facts. In June 2015, this tribunal ruled in favor of Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
The tribunal specifically directed the BCCI to pay ₹384.83 crore to Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL) for lost earnings and ₹153.34 crore to Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) for a wrongfully cashed bank guarantee. These amounts also included interest and legal costs.
The Financial Fallout: Why ₹538 crore to be paid now?
Bombay High Court. Image | Wikipedia
The BCCI challenged the 2015 arbitration award in the Bombay High Court, arguing it was unfair and that the damages were too high. However, the recent Bombay HC ruling upheld the original arbitration decision.
This means the BCCI is now legally requiredto pay a total of over ₹538 crore, including accumulated interest since 2015, to the KTK owners. This represents a major financial loss and a significant legal defeat for the Indian cricket board.
Indian star opener Smriti Mandhana has regained the number one spot in the women's ICC ODI rankings for the first time since November 2019, according to the latest update released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Mandhana has moved up one place to return to the top spot while South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has slipped to joint second place with new England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt after scoring 27 and 28 in the first two ODIs against the West Indies.
Mandhana now sits comfortably with 727 rating points after Wolvaardt held the top spot for over six months. The Indian star batsman has been in great form lately and scored the 11th century of her career, amassing 264 runs across five outings with a 52.80 averae and a strike rate of 90.41 during India's recent tri-series final against Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo.
Mandhana named ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year
The India vice-captain had a stellar run in ODIs in 2024, following which she was named as the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, scoring more runs than she ever has before in a calendar year, racking up 747 runs in 13 innings. Mandhana is one of only four women to record at least 10 centuries, with her 4473 runs standing 10th on the all-time charts.
Mandhana’s rating points currently eight ahead of newly-appointed England skipper Natalie Sciver-Brunt at 719 points. Wolvaardt dropped to equal second alongside Sciver-Brunt, while fellow South African’s Tazmin Brits (up five spots to 27th) and Sune Luus (up seven places to 42nd) are among the big movers this week on the list for ODI batters.
Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, being the only other Indian batters in the top 30, placed at 15th and 16th, respectively.
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 Full Schedule announced; India to face Pakistan on October 5
The ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 schedule was revealed on Monday, with hosts India and Sri Lanka slated to play the opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on September 30.
The schedule of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 has been released. The Women's World Cup will begin on September 30 with hosts India playing their first match against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The eight-team tournament will be a round-robin format with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. The much-awaited final will be played on November 2. Australia will begin their campaign against New Zealand on October 1 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
India vs Pakistan Match details
Due to tension between India and Pakistan, Pakistan will play all its matches in Colombo, Sri Lanka under the hybrid hosting model agreed upon by BCCI and PCB. In such a situation, the teams playing with Pakistan including India will go to Colombo, which is a neutral venue.
The most awaited match of the group stage between India and Pakistan will be played on 5th October in Colombo.
Women's Cricket World Cup 2025: Venues
India : Bengaluru, Guwahati, Indore, Visakhapatnam
Sri Lanka : Colombo
The tournament will be held at five major venues in the two countries. Bengaluru and Colombo have been shortlisted as potential hosts for the final.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has produced some of the most thrilling matches in cricket history, with some teams successfully chasing down mammoth targets to win games. Rajasthan Royals were the first team to chase down a 200-plus total when they scored 217/7 in 19.5 overs to overcome Deccan Chargers’ 214/5 in the IPL 2008. It was only the ninth match of the league. Over the course of the next 12 years, a lot of sides chased down totals over 200+, but none came anywhere close to scaling what RR achieved in 2008.
That record stood for a solid 12 years before the Royals eclipsed it again in IPL 2020 when they hunted down Kings XI Punjab’s 223/2 with 226/6. The mark stood for five years. Currently, Punjab Kings hold the record for the highest successful run chases in IPL history.
Here is a list of the Highest Successful Run Chases in IPL History.
Punjab Kings hold the record for the highest successful run chases in IPL history. PBKS successfully chased down a target of 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in IPL 2024. Tasked with chasing down a daunting target of 262 in front of a vociferous away crowd in Kolkata, PBKS had their task cut out for them. However, the Punjab team defied all odds.
Player of the Match Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten 48-ball 108, while Shashank scored an unbeaten 68 off 28 balls as Punjab pulled off the greatest run chase in IPL history.
In fact, Punjab Kings’ successful run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders is the only time a team has chased down a score of 250 or more in IPL history. It is also the highest successful run chase in T20 cricket as a whole.
2. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings (2025) | 246 Runs
Sunrisers Hyderabad are second on the list of highest successful run chases in IPL history and coincidentally, it came against Punjab Kings in IPL 2025. After PBKS posted 245/6 in the first innings, SRH chased down the target by reaching 247/2 in 18.3 overs with Abhishek Sharma playing a starring role with a 55-ball 141. Abhishek hit a 40-ball century, making it one of the fastest in IPL history.
Punjab started strong with an explosive opening stand from Prabhsimran Singh and young Priyansh Arya. The two added 66 runs in just 24 balls, giving the team a perfect start. After Prabhsimran fell for 42, captain Shreyas Iyer took charge, smashing a half-century in just 22 balls. Nehal Wadhera supported him well, and the Kings crossed 150 runs within 12 overs.
The strong foundation was capped off in style by Marcus Stoinis, who cleared the ropes four times in the closing overs, helping Punjab finish at 245, their highest total of the season so far and a testament to the batting unit’s depth and intent. But Sunrisers Hyderabad responded with a brilliant opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. Their 171-run stand helped them chase down the target successfully.
3. Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Lucknow Super Giants (2025) | 228 Runs
Stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma's unbeaten 85 led RCB to chase down 228 runs against Lucknow Super Giants. After the win, they sealed a top-two finish in the very last league game of IPL 2025. This is also RCB's highest-ever successful chase in IPL history and they will now play in Qualifier 1 against Punjab Kings. Records galore for RCB don't stop there, as they have ended up winning all 7 away games in the regular season, which is just remarkable.
The chase saw significant contributions from Virat Kohli and Phil Salt in the powerplay, followed by Jitesh Sharma and Mayank Agarwal's unbeaten partnership. Agarwal scored 41 not out to support Sharma's match-winning innings.
Earlier, Lucknow Super Giants posted a formidable 227/3, powered by captain Rishabh Pant's spectacular 118.
4. Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings (2020) | 224 Runs
A collective effort by Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, and Rahul Tewatia led the Rajasthan Royals to chase down a target of 224 runs against Punjab Kings in 2020, the highest successful run chase in IPL history. Samson was the top-scorer with an explosive 85 off just 42 deliveries but Rahul Tewatia became the centre of attraction because of his massive 7 sixes in the important moment. He smashed 5 sixes in an over against Sheldon Cottrell which changed the whole game.
Rajasthan Royals equalled the highest successful run chase in the IPL recorded by them in 2020, when they beat Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. In a battle for the position at the top of the IPL 2024 standings, KKR managed 223/6 on the back of Sunil Narine’s maiden T20 century. For the Royals, Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Sen took two wickets each.
In the run chase, Jos Buttler stood tall with an unbeaten 107 off just 60 balls, steering his team over the line on the last ball. The Royals were on the backfoot at 121/6 in the 13th over. But a cameo from Rovman Powell and some late power-hitting from Buttler got the Royals home.
Interestingly, Punjab Kings surpassed this record 10 days later against the same opponent at the same venue, when they successfully chased 262.
6. Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings (2021) | 219 Runs
Mumbai Indians pulled off a stunning 4-wicket victory over their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in a match in 2021. Ambati Raydu & Faf du Plessis played blistering innings to put up that mammoth total at Delhi.
Chasing down the target of 219 runs, Mi didn't have a good start. Kieron Pollard's unbeaten 87 from 34 balls, including 6 boundaries and 8 sixes, played the most pivotal role in securing the win. He was also the best bowler for Mumbai in that match. Pollard conceded only 12 runs in his 2 overs and scalped 2 huge wickets.
7. Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers (2008) | 215 Runs
In the inaugural IPL edition, Rajasthan Royals chased a massive target of 215 runs against Deccan Chargers. Andrew Symonds' explosive 117 runs in just 53 deliveries helped Deccan Chargers to put up a huge total of 214 runs.
While Chasing, Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan laid the foundation with a 98-run partnership. The explosive knocks from Mohammad Kaif and Shane Warne at the end took Rajasthan to achieve victory.
8. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals (2023) | 215 Runs
Sunrisers Hyderabad stunned Rajasthan Royals at their home to clinch a high-scoring last-ball IPL thriller. Leveraging on a crucial last-ball no-ball from Sandeep Sharma, Sunrisers snatched the cliffhanger to register for their fourth win of the season. With 17 needed off the final over and 4 needed off the final ball, power-hitter Abdul Samad smashed a six off the last ball to help Sunrisers register a memorable win.
The foundation of the chase was laid by top-order batters Abhishek Sharma (55) and Rahul Tripathi (47) but it was the Glenn Phillips 7-ball 25 cameo that turned the game on its head and reignited the chase.
9. Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings (2023) | 215 Runs
Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Kumar produced a superb effort with the bat as Mumbai Indians completed a gigantic 215-run chase against Punjab Kings and won the match by six wickets in Mohali on Wednesday. The pair added 116 runs for the third wicket after Mumbai were 54/2 in the powerplay.
Ishan Kishan scored 75 in 41 balls. Tilak Varma and Tim David joined the chase and wrapped the contest in 18.5 overs with no issues.
10. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings (2024) | 215 Runs
Brushing aside the first-ball dismissal of the explosive Travis Head, his opening partner Abhishek Sharma showcased an amazing range of stroke-play to ensure Sunrisers Hyderabad finished off its league engagements in the IPL in style with a four-wicket win over Punjab Kings.
Chasing a target of 215, Sunrisers batting depth came to the fore as first Rahul Tripathi set the tone before Abhishek served another reminder of his growing stature as a future India star. The way he stood up and swung Rishi Dhawan and later carted spinner Harpreet Brar for two huge sixes was truly symbolic of his authority, class and timing against pace and spin alike.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen came up with superbly-paced knocks to help the team’s cause on yet another perfect batting strip here.
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